GoEuro travel site takes US$45m funding from Goldman, Europe VCs

[FRANKFURT] Travel booking site GoEuro has raised US$45 million in new funding in a round led by an arm of Goldman Sachs and joined by top name European venture capitalists and entrepreneurs, the company said on Wednesday.

The search site lets consumers book travel on rail, bus and air transport across Europe in a single location, providing comparison features familiar to air travellers. It operates across 11 European markets with a population of 400 million.

Travellers can book journeys with 40 railway companies, more than 300 bus operators and all airlines in the region, effectively providing a range of ground transportation connections to air travellers.

The Berlin-based company said the new round, which brings GoEuro's disclosed funding to US$76 million (nearly 70 million euros at current rates), will fund the company into 2016 and beyond, allowing it to invest in new partnerships and products, hiring, and marketing, both within Europe and globally.

The 2-1/2-year-old Berlin-based company said investors in the new round include Goldman Sachs IP Private Investments, along with London-based venture fund Atomico, the venture fund co-founded by Skype entrepreneur Niklas Zennstrom.

Russian entrepreneur-turned Silicon Valley investor Yuri Milner and Tom Stafford, a partner with Milner at DST Global, and a former director at Goldman Sachs, also took part.

They were joined by Sebastian Siemiatkowski, chief executive of Swedish payments company Klarna, and Ilkka Paananen, the chief executive of hit Finnish mobile gaming company Supercell.

REUTERS